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The National Council for the Reclamation of Germany's Debts to Greece demonstrate as a man rests

It will be a bad development if we insist on major cuts in pensions

Jean Claude Juncker

The latest figures show Greece’s debt stands at 179 per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP), or about £268billion (€315bn).

Currently the country owes about €216bn euros to the European Stability Mechanism, a permanent agency, based in Luxembourg, which replaced the temporary European Financial Stability Facility. That body had guaranteed €544.05bn to a variety of member states.

Representatives of the Greek government flew to Washington last week to discuss their options at the IMF and World Bank Spring conference.

But they failed to reach a conclusive agreement after the IMF disputed figures and Germany called for more cuts.

Now Jean-Claude Juncker, who earns more than €300,000-a-year, says he is softening on his hardline approach to making the country impose far reaching cuts on the vulnerable.

But he has refused to absolutely exercise any influence on former French finance minister Christine Lagarde who runs the IMF.

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He told euro2day.gr: “No major cuts in the pension sector should be pursued by the institutions. He added: “The poor part of the Greek society – the pensioners and the retirees – are suffering.

“We have to acknowledge that Greece is making a huge progress and it will be a bad development if we insist on major cuts in pensions."

When quizzed about Ms Lagarde he added: “I did not get the impression that she was in total opposition to what I was telling her.”

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Christine Lagarde, Theresa May and Jean Claude Juncker in Malta before Article 50 was triggered

In December German Chancellor Angela Merkel stepped into prevent the Greek government making payments to pensioners.

A total of 1.6 million Greek pensioners were identified as requiring a one-off package of support with nominal payments totalling £500m.

The cash bonuses which average at about £320 per person are intended to help the country's "frail" endure the winter.

Mrs Merkel, who is facing election in Germany in September, is apparently not warm to the idea of helping Greece which has been bailed out three times.

Greece has been given what is being described as unreasonable targets which it cannot reasonably meet.

It has been negotiating with lenders in the EU, the IMF signalling it could default as early as July because no one can reach an agreement.

The country's citizens have been pulling billions out of the banks and are cutting down on their supermarket spends.